


Coming Home

by my_angry_angel



Category: The Avengers (2012)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-02-05
Updated: 2013-02-05
Packaged: 2017-11-28 08:27:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,021
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/672342
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/my_angry_angel/pseuds/my_angry_angel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bruce returns to New York to deal with the threat posed by Emil Blonsky. Following the fight, he gets some shocking news.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Coming Home

Despite having met him a few times before his death, Bruce didn’t know Phil Coulson very well. Of course, talking to SHIELD agents after Loki’s attack, not many people did know Coulson all that well. But regardless, he couldn’t help but feel guilty when he learned of the man’s death. He should have done more to stay in control. Then he could have stopped Loki before anybody died. Before the god got away. That was one reason he left after it was all over. He couldn’t cope with the guilt of yet more blood on his hands.

He spent most of the time incommunicado, in run down slums without a single phone line for miles. But SHIELD always knew where he was; if they needed him, they could come find him. Most of what they needed were simple consultations, which he could do without actually going in. So when he got home one night and found his home occupied, he was somewhat surprised, though not entirely unprepared. Even in the middle of nowhere, Bruce had heard the news. Cities across the world had been under attack recently. Nobody knew why or who was behind it, but Bruce had put the pieces together.

He’d hid out in every place targeted.

“So, you’ve figured it out,” he murmured before he even knew who was there. Of course, who would it be but SHIELD?

“I’ll admit, it took a while,” Natasha replied, stepping forward out of the shadows. She had a manila envelope in her hands. “Do you remember Emil Blonsky?” she asked as she slid the envelope across the table to him.

“British guy, government lab rat?” He started thumbing through the content of the envelope. They were mostly pictures of the devastation wreaked in the last few weeks. The last one showed the man in question. Or rather the monster. Bruce wasn’t sure if Blonsky could actually change back.

“That’s him. He’s behind these attacks. We believe he’s targeting you.” That wasn’t exactly news to him. He’d figured it out after the third attack. Granted, SHIELD didn’t have the benefit of his experience.

“I was planning on waiting until he found me, and then I was going to fight him,” Bruce answered, tucking the pictures away.

“Director Fury has a better idea. You come back to New York, very publically, of course. If Blonsky really is after you, he’ll come there after you. Once he’s taken the bait, we all take him down together.”

“And what then?” Bruce asked. “I don’t think you can execute him and he can break out of any prison on the planet.”

“We were planning on giving him your room,” she answered with a small smirk. “Upgraded the material. It’s thicker, more durable. Even had Thor test it out. It holds up.”

“Sounds better than my plan,” Bruce said, nodding. “I’ll grab my toothbrush.”

While Bruce was in his room gathering his things, he thought back to the last time he’d faced off against Blonsky. He had no illusions about why he won that fight. It was a good thing he wouldn’t be on his own this time.

#

“Everybody’s going to meet us at Stark Tower,” Natasha announced as she hung up after the last of several phone calls. “Tony’s agreed to have a stylist there waiting to get you ready for the press conference.”

“Press conference?” Bruce asked with no small amount of trepidation. Somehow, letting the military know exactly where to find him didn’t seem like the best idea. “You never mentioned a press conference.”

“How else would we announce to the world that you’re in New York? Don’t worry, we’ve got everything under control.”

“Ross?” he asked.

“As soon as Blonsky reappeared, we put Betty and the general in hiding. In exchange for the army not harassing you while you’re here.” Bruce nodded slowly. He still wasn’t happy about it, but trusted SHIELD to keep those who would lock him up off his back. They’d done it for years, after all.

“So when did Thor get back?” he asked to change the subject.

“A few weeks ago. He won’t explain how or why, but since things have been peaceful since then, we’re not complaining.”

“Things must be running smoothly on Asgard, then. I mean, if Loki was causing trouble up there, Thor wouldn’t be back, right?”

“Loki’s imprisoned on Asgard. Way Thor describes it, he won’t be getting out any time soon, either. Apparently they hold quite a grudge against him.”

Bruce nodded and stifled a yawn. In his usual fashion, it had been a few days since he’d slept, and that was catching up with him. Natasha noticed the yawn; Bruce doubted there was much that ever got past her. She pressed a button on the console and a cot folded out of a wall in the back of the jet. “Go ahead and get some sleep. I’ll wake you up when we get there.”

He nodded and made his way back to the cot, though he questioned whether he’d be able to sleep. Despite his doubts, he was sound asleep within minutes.

#

The waiting was the worst part. True, Bruce hadn’t expected Blonsky to show up immediately following the news, but it had been three days and still no sign of him. Maybe the plan wouldn’t work after all.

The conference had been horrendous. Reporters had shot questions at him faster than he could answer, and cameras were constantly flashing. If Bruce’s control over the other guy had been as poor as in the beginning, he’d have lost it and dozens of people would have died. As it was, they had to cut the interview short and whisked him away to a nice quiet room in Stark Tower for several hours. They’d made it clear that he was free to leave the room whenever he wanted, but after that nightmare of publicity, he wanted to be alone.

Since then, they’d all been on edge. SHIELD had agents posted throughout the tri-state area specifically to watch for Blonsky, but there hadn’t been any word yet. The Avengers spent the days waiting by the windows on the uppermost floor of the tower so they could watch for the Abomination. Tony was taking the silence worst. The others were used to going for hours without hearing or saying anything, but Stark lived in a world of parties and press conferences, where there was never a quiet moment. He latched onto Thor, who was the most relaxed through the entire wait, and the thunderer regaled the billionaire with stories of Asgard.

Then, at noon on the third day, word finally came in. The Abomination had been sighted in the city, and was heading straight for Stark Tower. Clint fired a grappling arrow, and he, Natasha, and Steve slid down the line. Tony suited up and Thor took off, swinging Mjolnir, with Iron Man in hot pursuit. Bruce was more methodical about it. He went up to the roof and figured out where Blonsky was. It wasn’t hard.

The monster was running down the middle of the street, smashing cars out of his way. That made things much easier, though Bruce still had to time it right. After waiting a few more seconds, he changed into the Hulk and leapt. The fall was terrifying and exhilarating, but it was the landing that worried him. If he’d mistimed it by even a second, he’d lose the element of surprise he was going for. But his math proved to be spot on. With a loud bellow, he came down right on top of the Abomination. It would have been enough to kill most people, but Blonsky was even more resilient than Bruce. It stunned him, and the few seconds he was reeling bought enough time for the other five to show up on the scene.

The last thing Bruce remembered was a storm of explosions, lightning bolts, and laser blasts.

#

Bruce woke with a loud groan. He felt like a building had fallen on him. It took more effort than it should have to open his eyes, only for him to find the room blanketed in shadow. The sun was setting. The fight couldn’t have taken more than an hour, which meant he’d been unconscious for much longer than usual. Given how he felt, that wasn’t surprising.

Less than a minute after he woke, the door opened and the other Avengers entered the room, forcing Bruce to shield his eyes when they turned the light on. As they joked about thinking he was trying to die, a medic came in and looked him over. The exam was over quickly, and the others crowded around Bruce’s bedside. “Tell you what,” Tony said, patting Banner on the shoulder, “from now on, leave the flashy entrances to me.”

“Copy that,” Bruce answered with a lazy mock-salute. “What happened out there?”

“The plan worked,” Natasha replied, drawing appreciative chuckles from the men.

“You call this working?” Banner asked, motioning to himself. Bandages covered his body, including one, it felt, around his head. The fight had apparently been extremely rough. It was difficult to hurt the Hulk. Possible, yes. But hard.

“To be honest, we hoped he’d go after you,” said a voice Bruce hadn’t heard in a year. It belonged to a dead man.

“Phil,” he whispered, looking around. His eyes finally settled on the agent as the others parted to make room for him. He’d been standing in the corner, behind everyone else, which explained why Bruce hadn’t seen him before. Of course, that still left the question of how unanswered. “You’re alive?”

“Of course I’m alive,” he answered at the same time Natasha covered her mouth and said,

“Oh god, you didn’t know?”

“Of course not!” Bruce cried, sitting up. Big mistake. His vision swam and he nearly fell over, but managed to fight off the dizziness. “Last I heard, you’d been killed when Loki escaped.”

“Oh, that’s right,” Natasha said suddenly. “You left before Fury broke the news. But nobody told you when they came to you for consultations?”

“Obviously not,” Banner replied. “Jesus,” he said weakly, laying back down. This was too much to take in so quickly. He closed his eyes and the others whispered to one another, too quiet for him to hear. There was some rustling, footsteps, and the sound of the door opening and closing. Then someone sat on the end of the bed. Bruce opened his eyes again and saw Phil, looking incredibly awkward.

“You honestly didn’t know?”

“No. I left. You were dead.” Bruce rubbed at his eyes with both hands. “I left _because_ you were dead. Nobody bothered telling me otherwise. Just promise me this isn’t a hallucination.”

“I promise,” Coulson answered, scooting up toward the head of the bed. “I’m sorry. I know this must be a shock for you.” He started to explain how he survived, something to do with where he was stabbed and the angle of the blade, but Bruce cut him off.

“Just tell me what happened today. I don’t remember much past when I landed.”

“We won,” Phil said with a shrug. “Blonsky went after you and pretty much ignored everyone else. Which meant they didn’t have to worry about not getting hit.”

“And why do I feel like I got hit by a train?”

“He’s a lot stronger than we anticipated. You pretty much got your ass handed to you out there. With the two of you so close, the others couldn’t go all out against him, so it wasn’t until he’d stomped your head into the ground a few times that they managed to take him down.”

“Well, glad to know I got used as a punching bag today. I can check that off my to-do list.”

Phil chuckled and patted Bruce on the hand. “Get some rest. You'll be fine in a few days”

Bruce nodded and closed his eyes. He wasn’t having too hard a time accepting Coulson’s presence, but he wasn’t entirely sure he hadn’t imagined the whole thing. He’d just have to wait until he woke up to find out.


End file.
